Kukla's Korner Hockey

Ryan Smyth, who bled Edmonton Oilers orange and blue for close to 1,000 games before retiring as a player, is keen to get back to hockey.

After taking a season to decompress and spend time with his family following his final game in the spring of 2014, Smyth said Monday he’s interested in reconnecting with the Oilers.

“I would like to sit down with (Oilers Entertainment Group chief executive officer) Bob Nicholson and see what they’re thinking,” Smyth said. I want to be involved in hockey but I don’t know in what capacity.”

The Oilers aren’t commenting, but there are options they could consider in the short term.

Having the heart-and-soul Smyth at Oilers’ training camp as, say, a guest instructor could help the young forwards learn about getting position in front of the net and along the boards — an area that’s been lacking.

The Oilers also have to increase their team battle level, which was always Smyth’s best trait through 970 games as an Oiler, as well as his stops on Long Island, Colorado and with the Los Angeles Kings.

Hockey was probably always going to be a longshot in the desert. But nobody expected what’s playing out in sunny Glendale, where the city’s done the unthinkable to the Arizona Coyotes.

Tired of doling out $15 million a year in subsidies, the Phoenix suburb last week abruptly cut its payments to the National Hockey League franchise by more than half. The move, pretty much unheard of in professional sports, was the latest blow for the Coyotes, the league’s third-lowest in attendance last season, holder of the worst win-loss record in the western conference and the butt of jokes.

What Glendale did “is almost the exact opposite of what happens in these extortion situations,” said sports economist Victor Matheson of College of the Holy Cross. “Typically the team extorts more payments out of the taxpayers.”

The city canceled its stadium lease contract with the Coyotes in June, done with funneling so much to them as part of the deal even as it was cutting municipal services and raising the sales tax.

And if the new Nords have to play in the West to earn admission, well, you can bet they’ll happily bite the bullet. But surely that inelegant solution isn’t the only one on the table.

Probably the best option is to create an eight-team all-Canadian division. It’s one that would guarantee the extension of some of the best rivalries in the game—Edmonton vs. Calgary, Toronto vs. Montreal, Toronto vs. Ottawa, Montreal vs. Quebec City—and would see the popular Eastern Canadian teams make more visits out west. The league would have to make some accommodations in terms of scheduling and, possibly, offer compensation for higher travel expenses, but it’s a sensible approach for those teams. It would also allow for simple geographic division of the remaining 24 American-based teams and would ensure that a Canadian market would be involved in the final four—a boon for broadcast partner Rogers.
NHL

It’s also conceivable that Quebec could be placed in the East with another team, possibly the Blue Jackets, moving back to the West.

STAMFORD, Conn. -- July 27, 2015 – Coming off the second-most watched Stanley Cup Final on record, and the third-most watched NHL postseason in the last 18 years, NBC Sports Group will deliver coverage of 105 NHL regular-season games during the 2015-16 season, featuring 12 games on NBC and 93 games on NBCSN. The 105 regular-season games are the most ever scheduled across NBC Sports Group heading into a season. All games will be streamed live via NBC Sports Live Extra.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (July 27, 2015) --- The Buffalo Sabres today announced Russ Brandon will become President and Alternate Governor of the Buffalo Sabres effective immediately while continuing as Managing Partner/President of the Buffalo Bills. Brandon will oversee all aspects of the business operations for both the Sabres and Bills organizations and report directly to Terry and Kim Pegula. Former team President Ted Black has mutually agreed to part ways from the organization.

Nashville, Tenn. (July 27, 2015) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Monday that the club has signed restricted free agent Colin Wilson to a four-year, $15.75 million contract. Wilson will be paid $3.75 million in 2015-16, then $4 million in 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 for an average annual value of $3.9375 million.

Wilson, 25 (10/20/89), set career highs in goals (20) and points (42), while tying a personal best in assists (22) in 2014-15. The Greenwich, Conn., native also led the team and set a career high in plus/minus rating (+19), and tied a career high and ranked third on the Predators in game-winning goals (5). During the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the 6-1, 216-pounder set franchise records for goals (5) and power-play goals (4) in a playoff series during the Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. Chicago. In 368 career NHL contests since 2009-10, Wilson has 178 points (77g-101a).

So it’s going to come down to the wire with Derek Stepan and the Rangers, as the first-line center had not yet reached a contract agreement as of Sunday evening and his arbitration hearing is set for Monday in Toronto.

The Post has learned the 25-year-old restricted free agent is going into the hearing asking for $7.25 million and the club is offering $5.2 million, both on a one-year deal. With the independent arbiter able to pick any value of his choosing — a different process than the “pick-one” used in other sports — that would leave the middle ground of $6.225 million, a seemingly reasonable evaluation. The one-year deal and manageable salary would also make Stepan easy to trade if the Rangers find themselves as sellers come the deadline.

The team is pressed up near the $71.4 million ceiling of the salary cap, with 21 players signed and about $7.35 million remaining without Stepan.